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Baker Mayfield drops Sooners-Texas honest admission

Originally posted on NCAA Football on ClutchPoints
By Matt De Lima | Last updated Oct 12, 2024 3:40 PM ET

The 120th Red River Rivalry kicks off this afternoon between the No. 1 Texas Longhorns and No. 18 Oklahoma Sooners. For former Oklahoma football quarterback Baker Mayfield, he explained to the SEC Network that the Longhorns are easy to hate.

“Even though I grew up in Austin, obviously the home of the enemy, I grew up an OU fan because my dad knew a lot of the coaches back in the Barry Switzer days. So growing up, me and my older brother would go up to games. Tried to go at least one a year, so grew up watching the tradition of Oklahoma football back in the Quentin Griffin, Jason White, Adrian Peterson days. … It meant the world to me to go up to those games and watch those guys play.

“Then you mix in the rivalry of being from Austin, it’s the history of where I grew up. It made it easy to hate Texas when I was going to Oklahoma games and all my friends were UT fans.”

"Being from Austin … it made it easy to hate Texas when I was going to Oklahoma games and all my friends were UT fans."

Baker Mayfield has known the Red River Rivalry his entire life @bakermayfield | @OU_Football pic.twitter.com/YfTWDg6zPf

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) October 12, 2024

Oklahoma football has dominated the series since 2000, winning 17 of the last 25 meetings.

How Oklahoma football can stun the Longhorns, win Red River Rivalry

Oklahoma football will be without their leading receiver Deion Burks against the Longhorns. Texas football quarterback Quinn Ewers returns to the starting lineup since being knocked out of the team’s Week 3 56-7 win against UTSA.

Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian spoke about the rivalry earlier in the week, per the Associated Press.

“I’ve been part of some great games, some great rivalries,” said Sarkisian. “This one is just so unique.”

The Sooners must lean hard on their defense to limit the opposing offense. Pass rushers like R Mason Thomas and Gracen Halton will need to generate a pass rush to limit the time given to Ewers to connect with all of Texas’ playmakers.

The Longhorns are blessed with a bevy of weapons. They have four receivers with at least 220 receiving yards. The backfield is a three-headed monster with a trio of runners with at least 160 rushing yards.

It may be most difficult for Oklahoma to generate the offense necessary to keep up. They rank 119th in the country with 169.2 passing yards per game. Their 128.6 rushing yards per game ranks 100th. Without Burks, the next-best receiver is Brenan Thompson with just 10 catches for 106 yards and a touchdown.

The dual-threat contributions from quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr., a true freshman, must be something special. Such an inexperienced player would make himself an instant legend with a win in the Red River Rivalry.

This article first appeared on NCAA Football on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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